Chase raised his face in the air, searching for a scent. Della’s gut knotted.
“I don’t get a trace of anyone,” he said.
“Yeah, I told you, I think I was mistaken.” She formed her words so he couldn’t read her untruths, but she cut her gaze back to the woods, relieved Chan had escaped and taken his scent with him.
“Did you get a trace?” Chase asked.
“No,” she said, another truth. The fact that her ability to pick up scents had failed her again should concern her, but it worked in her favor now. But whatever this was interfering with her senses had better pass quickly … smell and hearing were part of her defense mechanism. She needed them if she was going to work for the FRU.
“Did you get a visual?” he asked.
On the inside Della grimaced. Was he testing her, trying to see if she was lying? “I did, but it came and went so fast. And since it’s not on our property, it could have been anyone.” She stared out the fence and prayed Chan wouldn’t come back. Jeepers, why had he come here to start with? Yes, she’d called him, but not once had she told him to come here.
Feeling Chase standing behind her, she wished the vamp would go. His presence annoyed her. His scent annoyed her. For some reason, she recalled their encounter earlier: You’re cute when you get mad. She continued to stare out into the dark woods. In the distance she could hear the animals at the wildlife park. An elephant. A lion.
He actually moved closer. She could sense him only a few inches from her. She could hear the sound of his heart thumping rather fast. His scent became stronger.
“Are you sure it wasn’t the same vampire who attacked and killed that couple?”
She did an about-face and stared at him through tight eyes. Standing too close, she took a step back. “How do you know about that?”
“I’m working with Burnett and the FRU on the case.”
He was working with Burnett? Hadn’t she told the camp leader she wanted to do this? “Burnett wouldn’t allow that. He barely knows you.” Besides, this was her case. She was already invested in it. She’d gotten a trace. She’d lived the images of the dead for days.
“I guess some people around here are more trustworthy than others.”
She glared at him and lit out. It was almost five now. If Burnett wasn’t up, he was about to be.
Della landed on the front porch of Holiday and Burnett’s cabin. The front door swung open, and Burnett, hair a little mussed and looking sleepy, stood there wearing only his boxers. He did have a pair of jeans in his hands as if he’d been planning on getting dressed and had run out of time.
“What is it?” he asked, his tone tight and his voice morning raspy. Then, in one swift move, he donned the jeans. Della watched his toned legs disappear into the denim.
“Have you assigned Chase to the recent FRU case?” she asked.
Burnett ran a palm over his face as if still trying to wake up. “You … you came here at this time to ask me about that?”
“Did you?”
He exhaled. “You couldn’t have waited another hour?”
She could have, but she didn’t want to. “It’s almost five, I thought you’d be up. Are you avoiding my question?” She tilted up her chin, hurt and determined to make him see his mistake. She wanted to work this case. After seeing the ugliness of what that creep did, she wanted to help bring him down.
“No, I’m choosing not to answer any questions at this time.”
“What’s wrong?” Holiday walked out wearing a robe and a sleepy expression.
Della hadn’t minded waking up Burnett, but a pregnant Holiday, looking extra tired, dinged her conscience. “Sorry, but I … ran into Chase and he told me that Burnett had assigned him to work on the new case. The case I told Burnett I wanted to work on. Now he won’t even tell me if it’s true.”
Holiday looked at Burnett as if waiting for him to answer the accusation.
“You were out sick,” Burnett said.
“I got hit in the head. But I was fine, I told you I was fine. I remember the doctor had to come here once to take care of you when you were knocked on your ass by a ghost. Nobody took away your right to work a case.”
“I don’t assign cases just because someone wants to work it. And I was not knocked on my ass.”
“I got a trace of the guy.”
“So did Chase, he was out the night when the vampire set off the alarm.”
“I went with you to the scene and I saw what he did to that couple. I told you I wanted to work it. And besides, you barely know Chase. He hasn’t even been here a week. You trust him more than you trust me?”
“I never said I don’t trust you. He has certain gifts that make him an asset.”
“What, like a penis?” Della crossed her arms.
“Excuse me?” Burnett asked, shock widening his eyes.
“I’ve done everything you’ve told me I had to do to make the FRU. And you’ve sent me only on one case. One!” Della tried to keep her voice from cracking with emotion. “You are constantly bypassing me and sending either Lucas or Derek. And now it’s Chase. Why are you trying to stop me?”
Burnett glanced at Holiday almost as if expecting her to help him.
She didn’t speak up and that reminded Della of what Holiday had said earlier. “Is it because I’m a woman? You think I can’t do this because I’ve got br**sts? Well, let me tell you, my br**sts aren’t that big and what I lack in upper-body strength, I make up for in smarts and spunk.”
“It’s not because you’re a woman.” He glanced at Holiday again, and when she didn’t jump to his defense, he growled. “It’s not!”
Della heard his heart flutter to a slight mistruth. Not a whole lie, but … “Your heart just skipped a few beats, buddy!”
Burnett glanced at Holiday again, as if asking for her to intervene, but she remained silent. She obviously knew Della was right. Burnett wasn’t being fair. He’d been passing her over and choosing guys to do the job.
“Why don’t you think I can do this?” she asked again. “If not because you’re a male chauvinist pig, then tell me what it is. Tell me what I need to do to meet up to your standards!”
“I’m not … It’s because I don’t want to see you hurt.”
“And you think I’ll end up hurt because I’m a woman,” she said.